Brokers Need To Sharpen Their Value Story

WAV Group is re-launching a number of brokerage brands today. Re-launching a brand does not require a brand to change, but the brand communication changes. We review how the brand is communicated everywhere, but especially where the brand has the greatest reach – in your technology applications. A brand re-launch begins with a strategy to tell the story about why your brand is a good choice. We identify why your managers (employees) work for your firm so competitors do not hire them away. We define the reasons why agents (contractors) work for your firm so they cannot be recruited away. [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:29-07:00November 11th, 2015|Main category, Marketing, Our Services|Comments Off on Brokers Need To Sharpen Their Value Story

Online Marketing is for Sellers, Recruiting, and Retention

It's November, the beginning of budgeting and planning for a successful 2016. WAV Group studies the online effectiveness of many of today’s leading brokers and provides audits and advisory services on optimizing these programs. The true measure of online effectiveness is closing a transaction. Unfortunately, we have observed that closing a transaction is coincidental to online marketing and not a direct correlation. The relationship between an agent and a consumer is akin to dating. Both parties must be attracted to one another. There needs to be a connection and the development of things like trust and confidence. It’s a dating [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:31-07:00November 2nd, 2015|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing, Our Services|Comments Off on Online Marketing is for Sellers, Recruiting, and Retention

RESO: Your job depends on it!

At the “CMLS Brings it to the Table” meeting at NAR Mid-Year, there was a great discussion led by some early adopters of the RESO Data Dictionary. They talked about the inherent benefits of creating a consistent data standard for all MLSs, Brokers and Technology Vendors. They talked about how data consistency creates an environment that will stimulate innovation and new thinking that will make it easier for REALTORS® to be successful. They talked about all how brokers will be able to operate more easily in multiple markets with a consistent data standard. Basically, our world with the RESO Data [...]

Time to Market

Shaping an idea or a strategy takes time. More importantly, it takes a well-structured catalyst that “just makes sense.” WAV Group has had the opportunity to work with some pretty fantastic visionaries on the future of real estate – powerful market makers that rethink things many times to carefully construct strategies for the greater good. The outreach with peers and competitors only drives the momentum and refines the structure. It is impressive and inspired. But these things take time to develop correctly. Upstream and the Broker Public Portal are the outcroppings of this industry-wide thinking. We are blessed to be [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:44-07:00May 22nd, 2015|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing, MLS Insights|Comments Off on Time to Market

What ever happened to Trade Show Etiquette?

It could be just me. I may have attended too many trade shows. Yet somehow I believe Emily Post would have been appalled if she walked the exhibits at NAR Midyear. To add a little context, I have attended, exhibited, sponsored and run trade shows. In fact, I’m afraid to count the number of miles I have walked on trade show floors, having attended many NAR-FAR-CAR annuals, NAR Midyears, HomeBuilders/IBS, PCBCs, COMDEX, CES, IBC and others. I have also been the lead for many firms exhibiting at these same shows, and have found myself staffing exhibits, including too many hours [...]

Recruiting or Retention of Agents

In a recent meeting I attended of broker owners, there was a questions posed: What’s more important in your business – Recruiting or Retention of agents? There seemed to be an overwhelming lean toward recruiting and it is hard for me to understand why. When we look at operational effectiveness in a brokerage, we look at things like brand, leadership, and culture. Brand is measured by the opinion of agents and customers. Leadership is measured by the popularity of executives among staff, managers, and agents. Culture is the happiness measurement of executives, staff, managers, and agents. The common goal of [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:45-07:00April 30th, 2015|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing|1 Comment

Are You International?

Sophisticated real estate companies in metropolitan areas do a lot of international business, or at least aim to do international business. To facilitate international business they belong to networks like Christies, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, Luxury Real Estate, or international franchise organizations. International is also a significant strategic development initiative for brokerage firms with strong relocation departments. The trigger to securing inbound referrals from abroad is relationship building. If you are not reaching out to international corporations with locations in your area, or taking trips to develop referral relationships with feeder markets, you are not likely to [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:46-07:00April 27th, 2015|Main category, Marketing, Strategic Planning|Comments Off on Are You International?

Trend MLS Case Study On Excellence

I was at the Swanepoel T3 summit a week ago and battled the misanthropic attitude toward MLS that bubbles up from agents and brokers. My commentary was specific. Not all MLSs are alike. Most MLSs with more than 5000 subscribers are excellent. Some MLSs with more than 10,000 subscribers are constantly improving their service levels to brokers and agents. One of those MLSs is Trend MLS. Case in point – Mobile image uploader Mobile image uploading is no simple task. That is why so few MLSs have this service available today. There are plenty that offer the ability to add [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:46-07:00April 23rd, 2015|Main category, Marketing, Strategic Planning|Comments Off on Trend MLS Case Study On Excellence

Enabling an Ecosystem of Innovation for Real Estate

The MLS technology model has been relatively flat-footed for some time now. Many MLSs offer one MLS system, one Public Records system and other services like showing appointment software, document management, and they call it a day. In Part IV of his blog series last Thursday, Bob Bemis outlined a vision of a brand new way for MLS platforms to operate. A new program called AMP™ or Advanced Multi-List Platform™ that would leverage RPR is a very interesting and even scary concept to some. In its simplest definition, AMP would be the “back end” of an MLS. It would provide [...]

Size Matters

Bigger is better. At least that's what Apple discovered when it unveiled larger iPhones. The sales numbers stunned everyone: 74.5 million iPhones in the first quarter of release. That’s more than 34,000 phones an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even Tim Cook was taken aback, telling analysts the “Demand for iPhone was staggering,” adding, “This volume is hard to comprehend.” Every major smartphone vendor has discovered that when it comes to consumer preferences, they are turning to larger screens. The bigger story But what is happening here goes beyond record sales numbers for Apple, Samsung, Google, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:46-07:00April 23rd, 2015|Main category, Marketing, Our Services, Strategic Planning, Technology Evaluation|Comments Off on Size Matters

Zillow/Trulia Executive to Headline San Diego REALTOR® Expo

Largest REALTOR® Event in San Diego County Explores Industry Changes SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - April 22, 2015) - With the recent Zillow-Trulia merger and changes to real estate listing syndication in San Diego, what is the future of online real estate search portals? That's the big question to be answered by a panel of real estate marketing heavyweights -- including Zillow/Trulia Vice President Curt Beardsley, WAV Group Consulting Partner Victor Lund, and Move/Realtor.com Vice President Russ Cofano -- at the annual San Diego County REALTOR® Expo & Conference on Friday, April 24. WHAT | The annual San Diego County REALTOR [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:46-07:00April 22nd, 2015|Main category, Marketing, Press Releases|Comments Off on Zillow/Trulia Executive to Headline San Diego REALTOR® Expo

Funny – Anti-Zulia Radio Campaign

WI Homes is the consumer facing website of Milwaukee Wisconsin based MLS, Metro MLS. The website is a regional powerhouse for providing consumers with access to search the MLS property search database. In an effort to advertise a differentiation between their website and websites that they call “Zulia and Trillow,” they created these rather humorous radio ads. The first ad talks about the two biggest events in a couple’s life – when they buy a home and when they have a baby.   In the second ad, they talk about a family buying a home of their dreams [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:23:47-07:00April 2nd, 2015|Main category, Marketing, Our Services|1 Comment